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All of a sudden. . . voila. . . it appeared! No one but you knows how to do that. I guess you will keep it secret so you will have the only one in existence?

That would be nice having the only one, but I don't mind sharing after all it's what forum are all about

I have to figure out a way to attach the vent to the bumper first and at the moment it's only held on with sticky tape, but I bet it involves glue, possibly some zip ties too unless I can come up with a better way....it's kinda on the back burner for a while now as I have to sort out the paint on the underside so I can start putting stuff back together.

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Harbor Freight sells a toolkit that permits one to hand press wheel bearings out/in, so you don't have to buy a 20-ton stand up press. It takes a good deal of hard manual work, but is doable. Here is a picture of the toolkit:



The tool description said it was for front wheel bearings, and should allow you to replace wheel bearings without having to remove the steering knuckle. I had taken my steering knuckles off so used my vice to hold the knuckle in place while pressing the bearing out, as shown:



And, as can be seen in the following photo, since the tool is entirely in line with the axis of the bore, it could be used without having to remove the dust shield.



One might still consider this method to be an enormous PITA, however it would not damage the dust shield if you choose not to remove it first. My experience tells me this tool is quite good for someone who is on an economy budget, cannot afford a stand up press or -- like Nial and myself -- doesn't have the space, and doesn't mind using muscle power (along with brain power; you gotta get to know the tool and how to best use it). Instead of using a hydraulic press, you are turning a large screw!

Hmmm that looks interesting, would be good to be able to do it myself so with any damage I can only blame myself, or take it to the local garage and get them to do it and take a risk!!!

Thanks for the advice,

This post has been edited by Nial: Sep 8, 2014 - 1:37 PM

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Yeah, I saw that you were preparing to finish the underside. But, then I thought about something you had done to its underside long back, and then had the sand blaster blow it all away. I guess this time you know how good it is going to turn out before you start? Or did I miss-remember what you had done previously?

I know you are anxious to get the re-assembly process underway so you can actually see it beginning to look like a fully fledged car again. I think all the wait and the work has been well worth it, cause it is looking really good at this point.

That press kit indeed looks perfect for the job

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At the moment the bottom is just painted with a tough primer followed by a 2 pack epoxy, next I need the stone guard which I originally wasn't going to use, but nearly everyone has recommended that I do, that will be followed by the colour and finally the lacquer. That should (fingers crossed) be enough to protect it for the rest of its days.

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On the BOTTOM of your car, where no one but your closest mechanic friends will ever get to see, you will have 5 levels of undercoating:

tough primer
epoxy
stone guard
paint
lacquer

That says to me you fully intend to put this baby on the road, where it must live in a harsh environment that warrants all that protection. And all its metal parts are zinc plated! Personally, I would not be capable of demonstrating so much bravery; instead I would be thinking of encapsulating my work of art in an environmentally controlled glass viewing case so it could be appreciated on into eternity by visitors to the 'car' or 'art' museum, or so it could be truck carried from showplace to showplace.

On the other hand, since I see you mind is made up, it strikes me that you will have a tremendous advantage when some thoughtless XC#S0B opens his/her car door into the side of yours. YOU will be able to fix your paint job in short order all by yourself cause you will have had all the experience you could ever need for handling such situations.

All joking aside, Nial, there is only one way to do any job. . . the right way. And, your work always meets that criterion, so, you are an inspiration to all who read this thread. Can't wait to see the end product; it's getting close.

Thanks very much to be honest I knew this was going to be a big job, didn't realise quite how much interest it would spark, I must admit I thought very few would be interested as it's slow and not very exciting work, I thought you would all be bored by now.

Some more goodies turned up today.

A complete superstrut system which I must say is F'in expensive, I hope never to have to buy all this lot in one go ever again. I hate saying goodbye to £1300 ($2095) at once. Less free cash this month



Also this which should more than handle my fuelling needs



Awaiting more tomorrow, hopefully some steel tube for some more fabrication, a special stone guard paint gun so I can try and apply some of that stuff, oh and some plastic sheet so I can burry the bodies....err err I mean protect the car when spraying it.

Well, after a lot of research and long hours of looking, I have finally found an exhaust for my project.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WpRbqLnMoiw

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If I actually saw someone on the road with that, I'd probably follow them for a while and laugh.

Well today has been a turning point, firstly, it's nice painting brand new things, the susperstrut parts have been given two coats of POR15 to help protect them, they are now nice and shiny

I have also been getting to grips with my new spray gun, top feed guns are sooooo much better, hardly any waste at all, the Max Meyer paint is a pleasure to use, the two pack filler primer has gone on great, the stone guard has gone on, although I need a couple more litres to finish it to the standard I want., not the ultra smooth finish I was wanting. But I am happy knowing it has the added protection, started spraying the inside and the engine bay, will finish underneithe once the extra stone guard turns up....the. It's onto colour and putting stuff back on, if I get the interior, underside and engine bay done I can start putting it all back together, get the wiring done, interior fitted, suspension text on, tank refitted, brakes etc all sorted out, that leaves just the engine and exterior to do which will be up to someone else as I will get pros to do those parts.

Bearing press should turn up Wednesday so I can get the wheels on, just need to be quick so I can get this bit of painting done before the weather turns and it's too cold to paint........it's going to be a long winter if I don't do it in time

Not really much to show, but it keeps record of my progress.

Under the front arches, nice and thick stone guard, but not too thick



The engine bay nicely primered,



you can just make out the line where the stone guard stops.



The bulkhead primered, but needs more work to get it right, and about a million threaded holes need the threads cleaning too, which is going to be a fun job one day.

A part of me wants you to throw this thing into the ocean for a year. Just to see how rust free it is when pulled out again lol

Guess what tonight's job is








And done...........

1st post here on the forums and id like to say that u sir, are a boss. thank you

Thanks

Some colour at last










Only one coat, needs a couple more to get a nice even finish. A bit more work for the engine bay before I spray that.

fantastic work!

Thanks

It could be better, but I am learning as I go. This paint spraying lark is fun though, if I ever get sick of my current job its something I wouldnt mind doing

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Hi Nial, you do seem to be making giant leaps at this point, and it looks fantastic, considering everything you've been through!

I'm wanting to know more about spraying paint as it's something I have never done, and won't until I get the new compressor. Since you are finding it one of the better new things you have learned on this project, I'm wondering if you have any time to explain what you've learned about spraying a bit more deeply, to talk about and show your tooling, what kind of respirator you use, how you prevent overspray getting everywhere, etc. And tell me how well your air compressor's water filtering system has been working.

Then there's the enclosure you built around your compressor to keep the neighbors under control. How is it working? Any advice?

Don't need to respond now, since you are hard at it, but when you get a little down time. TX. I am amazed at your tenacity!!

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Thanks very much

I will try and write something up tonight, it may not be technically correct from a professional spray painters perspective, but I will put down what I have learned so far and post pictures up of my system etc.......oh that reminds me, I am supposed to measure a ball joint for someone. I will just service the Civic and be right back

I will start a new thread for it so keep an eye out

This post has been edited by Nial: Sep 22, 2014 - 11:39 AM

Today is a good day.

Definitely a great day.

At last I have put colour to car and I must say it looks f'in brilliant, I so love the colour. It goes on very well, is very forgiving and is the perfect colour, love it, very happy bunny today. Well chuffed.......and it's only the engine bay, imagine how happy I cam going to be when I paint the topside I will be smiling so much the top of my head will fall off



Only the first layer, a small amount of flating to do, then more colour.

Nial,

It is freaking scary how beautiful it is beginning to look!!! I know you say it's just the engine compartment, but WOW! Whatever you are doing to apply that paint, whatever paint it is, is like raising a Phoenix from ashes. And, it seems to me, the farther along you get, the more you are getting done at each step. Do you also feel that? I mean, if you can answer without your head popping off.

Thanks

I think it does seem like that it is jumping in big steps, but I think it's because as I have done loads of prep so it's all finally coming together.......at last


Ooooops, there goes the top of my head

That is one sexy engine bay. Can't wait to see you attach all the zinc-plated shiny bits to this thing!

Well that's the rear sub frame in....not easy to lift that in on your own.....sore back today.

i can eat off of that. that is amazing. beautiful. all the way down to the bolts. Unfortunately that could get expensive here. lol.... electroplating bolt here can cost an arm.

That looks amazing!

get a better camera!

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Yes sir, will do. It's just taken with my iPad, the light isn't very good hence the grainy shot. I will endeavour to do better next time.

A small bit of progress today.

Fitting the front coilovers



Took a bit of fettling but its all sorted now



rear coilovers fitted





as you can see, i dont have much space to work in...need to build myself a bigger garage.